Prime minister vows strong defense against N. Korea despite conciliatory mood

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Friday that South Korea won't let its guard down and will ensure its defense against North Korea despite the recent conciliatory mood with the provocative communist nation.Lee made the remark during a ceremony commemorating the North's 2010 sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan near the western sea border, which left 46 sailors dead, and other battles with the North in and around the Yellow Sea. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon speaks during a ceremony held on Fri

March 23, 2018

Debate over garrison decree roils South Korea

Since the Syngman Rhee administration in 1950, the South Korean government has had the authority to issue a decree and mobilize the armed forces in order to maintain public order in the event of disasters and emergencies. 　But the “garrison decree” has often been criticized as an excuse to suppress democratic protests, such as during the authoritarian administration of the 1970s. The late President Park Chung-hee mobilized troops several times to crack down on anti-government protestors. 　Now th

March 22, 2018

S. Korea, US issue different statements on resumption of joint drills

The South Korean military and US Pentagon on Tuesday issued differing statements regarding the duration of their upcoming joint military exercises, raising suspicions of an attempt by Seoul to contain possible fallout from the resumption of the drills.　According to the Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff, the postponed joint military exercises will start on April 1, with the field-training Foal Eagle exercise that is to be halved in length from two months to one followed about

March 20, 2018

S. Korea, US to start scaled down joint drills on April 1

A postponed South Korea-US joint military exercise will resume April 1, South Korean and the US militaries said Tuesday, with its field-training Foal Eagle to be halved in length from two months to one.South Korea’s Defense Minster Song Young-moo and his US counterpart Jim Mattis decided to resume the annual computer-simulated Key Resolve exercise and field training Foal Eagle exercise, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry and US-led Combined Forces Command. South Korea`s President Moon Jae-in

March 20, 2018

Resumption of S. Korea-US joint drills to be announced Tuesday

A timetable for the postponed South Korea-US joint military drills is to be announced Tuesday, the allies’ militaries said Monday, amid speculations that the scope of the annual exercise may be scaled down due to a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea. 　According to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and US-led Combined Forces Command, the resumption of the computer-simulated Key Resolve and field training Foal Eagle drills will be announced late Tuesday morning. 　“As far as I know,

March 19, 2018

S. Korea, US to announce joint military training schedule Tuesday

Following months of strategic reticence, South Korea and the United States will soon reveal the schedule of their combined military drills, defense sources here said Monday."The two sides plan to announce the schedule of the joint training, postponed due to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, on Tuesday," a source said.The timetable and size of the annual Foal Eagle and Key Resolve exercise are a matter of primary concern with a flurry of summit diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear program just aroun

March 19, 2018

Kim would do 'victory dance' if US troops left Korea: US commander

WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would do a "victory dance" if the United States pulled its troops from South Korea, a top US military commander said Thursday.Adm. Harry Harris, chief of the US Pacific Command, was offering his assessment of how Kim would respond in the event the US succumbed to the North's longstanding demand to remove its 28,000 troops from the South."I believe he would do a victory dance," Harris told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I think he'd be a happy

March 16, 2018

Ministry vows to cut mandatory military service period despite public concerns

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it remains committed to implementing President Moon Jae-in's election pledge to shorten the mandatory service period of rank-and-file soldiers by three months.The change is part of the liberal Moon administration's "Defense Reform 2.0" campaign aimed at making the country's armed forces smaller but stronger.Under the scheme, the number of South Korean troops will decrease to half a million by 2022 from the current 625,000, which includes 483,000 Army

March 15, 2018

N. Korea claims S. Koreans want withdrawal of US forces

North Korea on Wednesday slammed the ongoing negotiations between South Korea and the United States to renew their deal on defense cost sharing, claiming that South Koreans want the withdrawal of US forces from the peninsula.The North's claim comes ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and its leader Kim Jong-un that would be held by May. It fuels speculation that the North may seek to strengthen its bargaining power ahead of the talks, experts say.The North has long insist

March 14, 2018

Military to revisit past sexual assault cases

The Defense Ministry on Monday pledged to reinvestigate past sexual assault cases, accelerating its efforts to eradicate the past wrongdoings amid the #MeToo campaign sweeping across the nation. The ministry said the investigation will focus on the cases in the last ten years involving general officers, including those committed by female officers. The ministry said it would consider establishing an independent organization to oversee sexual assaults in the military. However, the impact of the i

March 12, 2018

US to remain No. 1 market for Korean defense products

The United States will likely remain the largest overseas market for Korean defense products for at least the next five years, a local think tank said Sunday.The report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said there is a chance that Seoul may be able to win Washington's next generation trainer jet program, while orders generated by so-called offset deals could push up overall numbers. (Yonhap)The US is already the single largest buyer of Korean-made weapons, although Seoul

March 11, 2018

[Herald Interview] South Korea-US drills to be “consistent” with previous ones: US Navy commander

Joint South Korea-US military drills will be held on a scale “consistent” with the previous ones, a top US Navy commander stressed, downplaying speculations surrounding the resumption of the annual drills postponed until after the Paralympics here.US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald.In an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday, US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift also noted that there was “no indication” from the South Korean military to chang

March 8, 2018

Defense chief's 'joke' adds to speculation about scaled-down drills

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo "jokingly" said Thursday the United States does not need to send a nuclear submarine and other strategic assets to Korea for the upcoming joint military drills.He made the remark during a meeting with visiting Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift amid speculation that Seoul hopes to scale down this year's Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises in order to maintain the mood of inter-Korean reconciliation spurred by the PyeongChang Winter Olympics."Lo

March 8, 2018

Korea, US kick off negotiations on military cost-sharing

South Korea and the United States have kicked off discussions for what will likely be monthslong negotiations on cost-sharing for the upkeep of some 28,500 American troops stationed here, the foreign ministry said Thursday.Their first meeting was held in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday (local time). Officials of the allies discussed how to renew their current cost-sharing agreement, according to the ministry. They are expected to meet four or five times until Friday.The talks were led by Chang Won

March 8, 2018

Korea, US to start military cost-sharing talks this week

Korea and the United States will open negotiations this week to renew their cost-sharing agreement for about 28,500 American troops stationed here, the foreign ministry said Monday.The first round of meetings will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Wednesday to Friday. The current arrangement signed in 2014 is set to expire on Dec. 31.The talks will be led by Chang Won-sam, a career diplomat who was appointed in mid-November to head the negotiation team, and Timothy Betts, deputy assistant secret

March 5, 2018

Defense chief refuses to confirm NK official's alleged link to 2010 naval attack

South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo refused Wednesday to confirm a controversial North Korean official's alleged link to the communist state's naval attack in 2010 that killed 46 South Korean sailors.Song's remarks came amid continued criticism of Seoul's decision to embrace Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, as the chief of Pyongyang's delegation to the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Kim has been accused o

Feb. 28, 2018

Korea files protest with China over KADIZ entry by military jet

The foreign ministry has summoned China's ambassador to South Korea to lodge a complaint after a Chinese military aircraft intruded upon the South Korean air defense identification zone a day earlier, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, the Chinese jet entered the KADIZ and approached 30 nautical miles, or 55.5 kilometers, northwest of Ulleung Island in the East Sea before flying out of the zone. The jet remained within the KADIZ for more than four hours before retrea

Feb. 28, 2018

Former defense chiefs fall from grace as NK delegates return home

After he was promoted to a four-star general in 2005, Kim Kwan-jin hung pictures of the North Korean military leadership in his office -- a practice that continued until Kim became the defense minister in 2010 and presidential security adviser four years later.　The practice earned him popularity among conservatives at a time when cross-border tensions escalated following the North’s sinking of the South Korean Cheonan warship and an artillery strike on the border island of Yeonpyeong.　The decora

Feb. 27, 2018

Chinese plane enters S. Korea's air defense zone: JCS

China flew a military aircraft into South Korea's air defense identification zone for over four hours Tuesday without giving prior notification, defense authorities here said.The plane came close to South Korean territory, prompting the Air Force to scramble fighter jets to monitor its activity, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. More than 10 planes, including F-15ks and KF-16s, were dispatched.The Chinese jet entered the KADIZ at around 9:34 a.m. and approached some 30 nautical miles, or 5

Feb. 27, 2018